A Time to Grieve
by Sugarbubbleslove
Summary: It was something she had to do once a year and this year was no different despite being in a different time Post 'Now You See Me' – brief spoilers - Part of my 'Comfort' Series


Title: A Time to Grieve

Characters: Maddy/Mark, Jim

Rating: Teen

Disclaimers: I do not own anyone/anything from the forum Terra Nova. Fox owns Terra Nova and its characters. There is no copyright infringement intended. I do not make any profit/money or take any credit.

Summary: It was something she had to do once a year and this year was no different despite being in a different time

Timeline: Post 'Now You See Me' – brief spoilers

A/N: I'm just making an assumption here! No insider's information! This is part of my 'Comfort' Series.

Warning: Death (minor!)

A Time to Grieve

Maddy Shannon took in a deep breath as she reached the beach. She looked around to see it was deserted, not an unusual occurrence, especially with the weather being wild. Instead of being sunny, it was raining, the perfect weather to match her mood.

She pulled off her boots, slipping them into the cave nearby so they wouldn't get wet before she walked across the wet sand, coming to a stop where the waves crashed over her feet. The water was cold but she bore it no mind, focusing on the reason why she was here.

In her hands she held a wreath of flowers; the colours were bright and different from each other. She had made it herself with this day in mind. She hated this day, it was always hard to face this day but she knew that each time she faced it, the hole that was in her heart would slowly heal itself.

They said time was a great healer; all that was needed was to put it to the test. She took in a shuddering breath as tears pricked her eyes, her lips curling sadly as she stared at the flowers, gently fingering the petals.

He had never had the chance to see these flowers, to feel how warm the sun could be, to feel how clean the rain could be. He had died shortly after Zoe was born; his last moments spent holding his youngest grand-child.

She and Josh grieved in different ways after they lost him. Zoe was too young to remember him so she would spend the day with her parents to hear stories of him. She would go out to his grave while Josh would play his guitar at a club that still functioned, playing a song he had written for the man who had a large part of their hearts.

Maddy sighed, licking her lips as she looked back out at the ocean. It was dark, compared to how it usually looked when the day was sunny. The waves were a little wild today but she took no notice, her eyes closing as a tear slid free, caressing her cheek as it mixed in with the rain.

"It's been five years since you died. Each time it feels harder to do this than it did before but I know that it means that I'm slowly healing. It was never meant to get easier, I know that but at least it no longer hurts to think of you." She opened her eyes as a watery smile curled her lips. "I've met a guy, Mark Reynolds. I think you would have liked him; he's everything you said you wanted in a guy for me. It's actually quite funny because I remember when you told me that story when I was younger, that I would travel to a new place and there, I would find someone. I never believed you, I wanted to but I had always thought it would never happen to me, not the way you had hoped."

She laughed as she rolled her eyes. "He's protective, not as much as you were, but he makes me feel safe. I know nothing can hurt me when he's there and get this, he's a soldier. You always said that if I was ever to meet a guy, he would have to be a soldier just to survive you and dad." She smiled at the memory, shaking her head before her smile turned sad as she lifted her face up toward the heavens. "I miss you, Grandpa."

~_ATTO_~

Jim looked up from his spot on the bed where he was curled around his wife, their arms over their youngest daughter as both women slept. There was another knock and he got up from his bed, kissing his wife on the cheek when she stirred, moaning the loss of her husband.

Once she settled back down, he left the bedroom and crossed the house to open the door, seeing Mark Reynolds, Maddy's boyfriend standing there. He was dressed in his normal soldier civics with his hands behind his back.

"Hi Mr Shannon, is Maddy here?" Mark asked; frowning in concern when he noticed the older man looked like he hadn't slept well. Jim stared at Mark for a few uncomprehending moments before he seemed to come back to reality.

"Oh, sorry, Mark. Lost in my thoughts," Jim apologised, vaguely remembering what Mark had asked. "Maddy? I think she is at the beach." Mark gave him a short nod.

"Thank you…is everything okay?" he asked, wanting to be sure before he left to find his girlfriend. Jim gave him a sad smile.

"It's a sad day for my family," he admitted slowly before jerking his head toward the path that led to the beach. "I'm sure Maddy will tell you when you find her. Just tell her not to stay out too late and to call me if she's going somewhere else after the beach?" Mark nodded, taking a step back from the door and headed down the path.

Jim watched him leave before he sighed, turning back into the house and closing the door behind him so he could return to his wife and youngest child. They needed him and he wasn't going to deny them that.

~_ATTO_~

It didn't take long for Mark to find Maddy, since she was the only one around. She was barefoot, dressed in her knee length coat with her face turned up to the rain. She had a sad smile while holding a wreath of flowers.

"Maddy?" he watched as she turned around, her eyes flying open to meet his. He felt his concern move up a notch when he noticed the bloodshot eyes.

"Mark!" she frowned. "What are you doing here?" Mark moved closer.

"Your dad told me you might be here," he told her, his hand going to her cheek to brush back a strand of wet hair that stuck to her chin before he rubbed his thumb across her cheek. "Is everything okay? Your dad looked like he didn't sleep well."

"My grandfather," Maddy started, giving him a watery smile, "died a few months after Zoe was born. His last moments were holding her."

His thumb caught the tear as it slipped free and he wiped it away. "Today is his anniversary." Understanding dawned on Mark.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked and she shook her head.

"No; it's okay," she assured him with a smile. "It's just a little harder to do this, this year." Mark nodded, dropping his hand before he stepped behind her, sliding his arms around her waist as he did.

She sighed, resting her back against his chest, her head fitting under his chin.

"What do you usually do?" he asked.

"Mom and dad spend the day telling Zoe about him. We only really talk about him once a year; it hurts too much to talk about him. Josh plays his song that he created in mind for Grandpa and I usually visit his grave."

"But since you can't visit his grave, you decided to come here?" he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I read about it," she felt Mark smile at her. "In some cultures, when someone died, they would place flowers and lanterns in the water. It was a way of guiding the spirits to the other-side. I could never do that back in 2149 and I knew that it would be perfect to do today."

He pressed a kiss to her cheek before he straightened up before unwinding his arms. Maddy knelt down, placing the flowers onto the wave. She stood up, watching as the waves took it out to the ocean. Mark moved to her side, taking her hand in his as they both watched it before Mark tugged on her hand.

They walked over to the cave, entering a little further in so they wouldn't be drenched by the rain. Mark pulled off his jacket, placing it on the ground before he sat down, watching as Maddy removed her jacket, revealing a black dress, placing it next to his.

He grasped her wrist, tugging her down before she settled down on his lap, her head resting on his shoulder as one arm wrapped itself around her waist, the other playing with the wet strands of her hair.

He felt her face turn inward and warm tears sliding down his neck, soaking the collar of his t-shirt. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head, closing his eyes when he felt her hands curl up in his shirt, holding on.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that, her softly crying and him slowly rocking her, trying to comfort her the best he could before she let out a shuddered breath, her breathing slowly returning to normal and she lifted her head to see the wet patch.

"Sorry," she murmured and he shook his head, grasping her hands. She clutched onto him.

"What was he like?" he asked, his voice soft.

"He was protective," Maddy slowly started, her eyes locked onto the water, her fingers playing with Mark's. "Very protective, he never liked it whenever a boy went near Zoe or I, said that we were too young." She laughed at the memory. "He and dad were in agreement that no guy would ever be good enough for us." She felt him press a kiss to her forehead. "He would tell us stories about different places and how one of these days, we would go on an adventure and a find a whole new world. Josh and I never believed him because we only knew 2149 at the time until they told us about Terra Nova."

"Did he work for Hope Plaza?" he asked and she shook her head.

"He had been a doctor, same as mom," she said. "Sometimes, I swear he was a psychic," she admitted, smiling. "One day, he came into my room with a tub of ice of cream, my favourite. He just sat on the bed, opened it and handed me a spoon. We sat there in silence for a moment before he looked at me and said 'all boys are idiots, especially when it comes to girls they like and yes, there will be boys that will make you cry but it's the one who that makes you cry with happiness is the one you should hold onto'." She gave a disbelieving laugh, shaking her head. "I still don't know how he knew that was I was being taunted by a boy at school but he knew and he said the right things cheer to me up."

"He sounds like a really good man," Mark told her.

"I think he would have liked you, if he had met you," she told him, tilting her head back to look up at him with a smile.

"…Really? Cause your father told me he was scary, scarier than him," Mark told her and she laughed.

"He liked dad but he said it was a dad's job to be protective, to be tough on any guy that came anywhere near their daughters because the one that didn't run would be the one that wins the heart of the daughter," she explained, rolling her eyes. "He just pretended he didn't like dad, but he told me that he had never seen mom as happy as she was with dad, and he knew dad was a good man. But it didn't mean that he was going to make it easy." Mark grinned, comparing her grandfather and father; they were similar in more ways.

"Sounds like you guys were close," he told her, almost wistfully and she nodded.

"He was our last grandparent. Dad's parents died when I was 7 and mom's mom died when she was younger. Grandpa never remarried again because he loved grandma too much to even look at another woman. He was the one we all went to if we had a problem or if we just needed to be held."

"…he sounds just like you," Mark told her and she looked at him before smiling and rolling her eyes in amusement.

"Sometimes I wonder what he would have thought about Terra Nova," she admitted. "Would he have been proud of us for breaking us the rules to keep our family together? For making it this far?"

"I think he would have been proud of you guys," Mark told her and she looked up at him. He gave her a smile. "You guys got to come to Terra Nova, you fought to keep your family together and even now, you haven't forgotten him. You carry a part of him within you and he will never die, not completely."

"…It times like these you remind me of him," she admitted with a smile. "You just know what to say and when to say it." He kissed her softly and she sighed into his mouth, her hand coming up to cup his cheek.

One of his hands slides around her waist, the other slipping into her hair as their lips parted. She shifts in his lap so she is facing him more fully, the hand on his cheek sliding into his dark locks, holding him close as he continues to steal her breath away.

Soon the need for air separates them and she rested her forehead against his chin, her heart thumping madly against her ribcage when a beeping sound breaks into their moment. Mark shifted his arm so he could see his watch before he sighed, his lips pressing against Maddy's forehead for a brief moment.

"I should get you home," he told her, helping her up before he pulled on his jacket. He watched as she pulled on hers, holding her arm as she slipped her boots on.

They stepped out of the cave to see it had stopped raining sometime during when they had been kissing but the clouds were still dark, threatening more rain.

Maddy sighed, breathing in the salty air before she turned to look at Mark, who was watching her. She gave him a soft smile.

"Thanks for finding me," she told him. Mark just smiled.

"Thanks for telling me about your grandfather." She smiled back before she rested her head on his shoulder as they both made their way back to Terra Nova.

Behind them, the clouds slowly parted as the sun began to peek through, sending rays of sunshine onto the water where the wreath of flowers bobbed slowly, drifting out further.

The End

You know…I really should stop making Maddy cry in the rain but for some reason, it just seems to suit her…like it's something she would do…

Hey – at least I got Mark to go after Maddy and comfort her!


End file.
